TSA Patdown!!11! LAX to MSP.

[MineralMan]

I finally got home yesterday from my pre-Christmas trip to visit my 89-year-old parents in my old hometown. I couldn't afford to fly at Christmas, so I went early. Nice visit, except that it's very difficult to watch my parents grow more and more frail. Still, they're alive, as lucid as ever, and it was great to see them and my two siblings, who still live in my hometown.

My parents have a citrus and avocado farm, which is now being custom farmed, since my Dad really can't do it any longer. Anyhow, I picked half a dozen avocados to bring back with me and put them in a gallon bag in my briefcase carry-on. In the bigger carry-on, I packed my sister's gift, which was a yard flag, complete with three-piece metal stand. I knew I'd get to watch the TSA folks open the carry-ons to see what was in there. And so they did. I was flying from LAX to MSP.

Well, the avocado bag kicked off some chemical detector, too, so i got to have an official TSA patdown. The folks who did the bag inspection and the guy who did the patdown couldn't have been nicer. One of them gave me her recipe for quacamole after seeing the avocados and apologizing for the patdown routine. She also asked if I was some kind of college professor, probably because of my tweed jacket and white beard. I laughed, and said that I wasn't. Another TSA person inspected the other bag. I assembled the three-piece lawn stake and put the snowman flag on it for him, and he asked where he could get one like it. I told him about my sister's little gift shop in my home town. Then, the guy who did the patdown did his job efficiently and with detailed explanations of what he would be doing at each step.

I smiled and said, "no problem" to everyone, and the whole process took just a few minutes. No muss, no fuss. Everyone was friendly and polite, and appeared to be in an OK mood. They were doing their job, and I actually expected to get called out of line, given the stuff in my luggage. I wasn't expecting the patdown, but that's not a big deal, either. Normally, I just breeze through the checks, since I plan for them and don't have anything odd with me. This time, though, I had some unusual stuff in my bags.

Did I feel like my rights had been violated? No. Was I pissed off at being delayed? No. The TSA employees don't know me from Adam, so why would I expect them to know that some bearded 68-year-old guy was no risk to anyone. Was I alarmed by being frisked by some guy in a uniform? No. It was no big deal, and was done professionally and politely.

TSA security screenings. They are a reality. Are they necessary? I don't know, but I've been going through some sort of screening at airports since the 1970s. It's what happens when you travel. Do they prevent anything? I'm guessing they do, because people know they are happening, so they don't attempt to bring stuff through the airport most of the time. That's good enough for me. I get to the place I'm going and back without much problem. This time was a little different, but there it is. I wanted the avocados, because they were a gift from my parents, and the yard flag, because it was from my sister. I knew they'd be an issue, but those gifts were important to me, so I brought them with me, instead of not bringing them.

If you're traveling for the holidays, smile and let the TSA folks do their job without making it a big deal. If someone gives you a bag of avocados or a yard flag with a metal stake, figure on a bag check. It's no big deal. If the TSA thinks they need to do a patdown, it will just take a couple of minutes. No big deal. Visit your family. Enjoy yourself. You'll make your plane just fine. It's all worth it to have one more chance to be with the people you love.

[Bonobo]

1. It's a lot easier to go through that when you ARE a white-bearded white man

as opposed to a black-bearded young Muslim.

Or a kinky-haired African American woman.

Or a turban-wearing Sikh.

Or lots and lots of other non-white people.

I think you probably know that, but I thought you should be reminded.

Not all people are treated the same.

[liberal N proud]

11. True - but I have seen white, clean-cut men detained as well

I don't know why or how most of them came out but I have seen a few cases.

But to your point, I watched a middle-eastern family all but harassed at a TSA checkpoint too.

[Pholus]

2. Data is not the plural of anecdote.

YMMV.

[MineralMan]

14. Nor did I imply any such thing.

I related an anecdote, along with my thoughts about it. I did not claim to present "data." It's odd that you would think so. Perhaps you did not read the entire post or see my disclaimer about my opinion on my signature line.

[Pholus]

70. Back before Michelle Rhee and Jeb Bush ruined education for cash...

We used to be taught to consider things like discerning the writer's intent.

Not like it was hard to do in your case.

I, too, have anecdotes. Mine is about how the TSA enables minor kleptos
with the way it structures its security lines.

[Jackpine Radical]

3. It also helps to change your name from Reza to Fred,

use some sort of patent skin-whitening product, and talk Minnesotan.

[MineralMan]

15. You doesn't has to call me Fred.

My accent is pure California. I moved to Minnesota only in 2004, due to my wife's aging parents, one of whom has already died.

Oddly enough, during the short time I was at the TSA security checkpoint, I did not notice any abuse of any dark-skinned people or people with accents, including my seatmates, who were Arabic speakers. I was held up, as I noted, because I had some odd crap in my luggage. It was a very brief delay, and I still sat at the gate for an hour, drinking coffee and chatting with other travelers, including one nice old lady with her scruffy terrier dog that rode with her in a carrier under her seat. Nice dog, too. It sat in my lap in the gate area for a while, as we chatted.

[FSogol]

4. Were you still able to assemble your avacodo-based bomb and denonate it on the plane?

[MineralMan]

16. Nope. But, I did give one of the avocados to the Arabic speaking

folks who sat in my row on the plane. Their English wasn't very good, but they did know what an avocado was used for.

[bowens43]

5. yes, by all means keep your mouth shut and accept any indignities you might be forced to endure.

You are a criminal or terrorist until proven otherwise.....

[MineralMan]

17. No, just a traveler with some avocados.

Nobody thought I was a terrorist or criminal. In fact, as I said in my OP, one TSA woman thought I was a college professor. But she had a pretty good guacamole recipe, with lots of garlic and some sriracha. I may try it. I usually use some Tobasco in mine, but I do have a bottle of sriracha, too. I always include some finely diced raw onions, too, along with some finely diced roma tomatoes. Plus, I prefer lime juice instead of lemon juice.

[sabrina 1]

6. You can thank all the protesters, the Civil Liberties organizations and the justifiably irate

passengers who were abused at airports for the changes that have been made. I went through LAX several months ago, the first time flying since the policies went into effect, after they quietly removed the Naked Scanners, thank you again all those who value their Civil Liberties. I had no problem, even less than you. And I thanked all those who fought to end the abuses so that I could fly again.

Next time you fly without having to pass through a Naked Scanner, thank those who stand up for our rights, I do.

[MineralMan]

18. I never did have to go through the backscatter scanner.

I've been through the new ones a few times, though.

LAX is usually pretty business-like in the security screenings. They seemed more relaxed and friendly on this trip. I guess everyone's mileage differs.

[sabrina 1]

26. Until they were removed many people refused to fly. As I said, thank those who stand up for your

rights when you have 'pleasant' experiences as a traveler from now on. It was a hard fought-for victory, so much money involved in those machines for people like Chertoff eg but people value their Civil Rights even if some are willing to submit to a loss of rights.

I am very proud of all those who worked so hard to restore SOME of our rights. I'm sure it has made life a little easier for the TSA workers also, who were the ones who had to face the anger of justifiably outraged citizens.

It pays to stand up against violations of our rights, always.

[MineralMan]

28. I have never refused to fly over such things.

I remember having to prove that my laptop computer actually worked back in the 80s. You had to take it out and turn it on for the screeners, even pre-9/11. OTOH, a guy used to be able to carry his pocket knife back then, but no longer. I often miss that while I'm visiting my parents, especially at Christmas. It's useful for opening difficult packages. But, fortunately, all of the other guys have theirs, since they didn't travel by air.

I save my indignation for other things. You're mileage may differ.

[sabrina 1]

33. My mileage involves protecting the right to live free from Government interference in the lives of

innocent citizens, especially when using the ancient claims that it is 'for your own good'. Your mileage apparently differs. But you do benefit from the mileage of others who consider Civil Rights to be of paramount importance in a democracy and always in need of protection from those who will try to abuse their powers.

When Bush instituted these policies Democrats stood up in large numbers against them and managed to limit the abuses with the help of Civil Liberties Organizations. You may not remember the battle against those, aptly named imo, Rapiscans but most of us do.

It's nice that you did not suffer the trauma other citizens did, six year old children, young women, grandmothers, disabled people, even a Congresswoman who chose to drive seven hours to DC rather than by subjected to the abuses she suffered when trying to get to her job.

But everything isn't just about you. Or me for that matter. And thankfully there are enough people who care deeply about what these Bush policies did to others, the violation of their rights, the abuses they were subjected to, which would only have grown more intrusive if it hadn't been for all those who stood up against them.

I hope some of the people who WERE traumatized by the abuses, have recovered and have been compensated to some extent. It never should have happened, but it did. Funny how we were told that we had to have those Rapiscans to stop 'terror'. Yet, we apparently don't need them after all. Proving once again that Liberals were right, it was just a big money making scam and in that regard, it worked, for the profiteers.

Nice story, I could tell some too, but so long as even one person's rights are being violated, it affects all of us.

[MineralMan]

34. We all have different issues that are important to us.

Yours and mine are often different. And yet...

[Gormy Cuss]

7. Nope. Not ever going to give the impression that I approve of it.

I cooperate but I don't smile. I certainly wouldn't engage in conversation with a TSA agent since my goal is to get through the process as quickly as possible.

I'm surprised they allowed you to assemble the flag. I was pulled aside for a suspicious object in my backpack and the TSA screener couldn't find it. It was a small (legal) dinner knife that was part of a travel set and it was in an inside zippered pocket. I offered to show him where it was and he said that I was not allowed to touch my bag until it had cleared his inspection. I had to describe where it was located.

[MineralMan]

20. I simply accept it as what is being done. I see no reason

not to smile at the TSA folks I encounter. This was the first time I've had to even have a bag check, and I expected it, as I said in the OP. I can't imagine having any sort of knife in my carry-on, and I check all pockets in my bags before packing them. In fact, since I only use those bags for air travel, it's pretty unlikely that there would be anything in them. Except this time.

As for the metal assembly, the TSA guy handed it to me and asked if I could assemble it. I could, and did. When he asked, I said, "Sure." What else would I say? Not everyone has assembled such a thing, so I was happy to oblige. I knew that those three metal pieces were likely to get flagged, too, along with the avocados. As for why the avocado bag triggered the explosive alarm, my parents live on a farm, and I got the bag from the garage, where there are some bags of fertilizer stored.

[FatBuddy]

8. that's cool the way a random civil servant carries around a guacamole recipe

cool story, bro.

let's all love our cheerful, smiling security thugs.

just makes you feel all warm and fuzzy, nicht wahr?

[MineralMan]

21. Actually, she just told me what she put in her guacamole.

It's not actually a complicated recipe. Californians have lots of different ways to make guacamole.

[FatBuddy]

24. It's not like LAX

isn't busy at all this time of year.

that's cool the way they took the time to talk about such pleasantries while they were violating your civil rights.

kinda takes the sting out a little.

again, cool story, bro.

in other words, I don't believe what you are saying is true. it reads like pro-police state propaganda. it's very subtle. you're good at it.

[MineralMan]

29. What I wrote is exactly what happened.

Whether you believe it or not is not my thing. That's your deal.

See, you believe that they were violating my rights. I don't believe they were at all. I understand the need to see what those metal rods were about, and the avocados might well not have been avocados.

I related the details of my security screening. Everyone was professional and not at all otherwise. They were earning their living by doing something that is required. It took five minutes.

[Jesus Malverde]

46. Was your nephew traveling with you?..nt

[MineralMan]

54. Nope. I was traveling alone, thanks.

My wife couldn't go, either. Her mother is in the hospital with a kidney problem. It looks like she'll be released this afternoon, though. Thanks for asking. I have just one nephew, and he lives in California, so there would be no reason for him to come back with me. If you're asking about my fictional nephew, it would be impossible for him to travel with me.

I appreciate your interest in my family, though, for sure. Since you have that interest, here's a photo of my father. He was honored while I was out there for his service as the Chief of my small hometown fire department for many years, on the centennial of that fire department's founding in 1914. He served on the department, when it was all volunteer for almost 30 years, with 12 of those years as Fire Chief. Today, the department is a mix of volunteer and full-time paid professional firefighters and paramedics. They had a banquet, and awarded my father with a centennial badge as the oldest living department Chief. Very nice of them. He's 89 years old, now.

[SammyWinstonJack]

43. heh.

cool story, bro.

[Jesus Malverde]

45. Indeed...nt

[okaawhatever]

51. I think if you review mineralman's posts you'll find him highly credible. nt

[FatBuddy]

53. i'm not saying it isn't possible that I am wrong

but that post got my spidey senses tingling.

[okaawhatever]

60. I understand. I stopped to see who posted it as there are many who post questionable

things here. Of course, having lived in southern California as a kid I also know that a guacamole recipe is typically only avocado, lime, onion, tomato, salt and cilantro. Then there's a variation among those who use garlic, peppers (serrano, jalapeno etc.) cayenne pepper, cumin and so on.
I wasn't suggesting to read his previous posts in admonishment but rather that some posts/posters are questionable and their history on DU often reveals their true motives. His are in line with the purpose of the site and intelligent. I frequently get my spidey senses up on DU, usually a "background check" of the poster reveals the truth.

[FatBuddy]

61. I hear what you are saying

[monmouth3]

9. Dear MM, I had the same pleasant experience from Newark to Palm Beach. The only

thing was the broken glass in a picture frame I had in my luggage. $^&% happens. Anyway, glad you had a good time.

[KansDem]

10. Thanks for the memory, MineralMan!

"LAX" tells me your parents' farm is in southern California.

I grew up in Long Beach and went to college in San Diego. When I'd go home for visits I usually took I-5. However, occasionally for a change I'd take 395 (I-15) up through central California to Corona, then in on 91.

There would be small stands along 395 that sold locally-grown produce, including avocados. I would stop and buy a bag: the going rate then was 10 avocados for $1 (!!!). This was mid-1970s.

I didn't eat them much but my mom loved them.

10 cents for an avocado: times have changed...

[MineralMan]

23. Well, my avocados were free. I went into the orchard and

picked them myself. I found some really nice ones. Mostly, my parents grow the basic Hass variety, but I prefer Bacons. But, I picked a couple of the Bacons, along with a couple of Fuertes, as well. I like variety. I didn't have room for any tangerines, sadly. They have a great tree of an older variety of tangerines that I like very much. They have seeds, but are excellent.

[Vashta Nerada]

12. It's...been awhile since I've been felt up.

Maybe I should travel with a couple of avocados in my carry-on so I can get to second base with a TSA agent.

[SidDithers]

39. If you really want to use avocados as a dating tool...

try putting a couple in your pants.



Sid

[Vashta Nerada]

41. Haha.

Yeah, and an extra-long tube sock.

[MineralMan]

59. That would probably do the trick, I think.

Better pack four or six, though, just to be sure. The TSA guy who did the physical search wasn't my type, though. Wrong gender for me, so it wasn't much of a thrill.

[JaneyVee]

13. I've had my bag gone through and have been patted down myself

Fr bringing back some unusual items. No big deal. Btw, the TSA does recover a huge amount of weapons each year from travelers.

[FarCenter]

19. About 5 Weapons Confiscated by TSA Screeners Daily

Carry-on bags at checkpoints have been pulled from conveyor belts in U.S. airports nearly 1,750 times this year because they contained a gun, often loaded, according to the Transportation Security Agency.

...

The number of guns confiscated by the TSA has skyrocketed from 660 in 2005 to double that in 2011 — and nearly triple that in 2013.

The TSA said the increase was possibly tied to the fact that the number of weapons Americans carry continues to rise, up 16 million last year alone.

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2013/12/about-5-weapons-confiscated-by-tsa-screeners-daily/

[MineralMan]

25. So I understand. I don't understand how firearms get into people's

bags by accident. I can't even imagine going to the airport with a gun or knife in my bag. Odd.

[Jenoch]

22. My 80 year old snowbird father

managed to get himself detained at MSP for 20 minutes. He inadvertently forgot a live .22LR round in a pocket of his jacket. My father was chagrinned for his absent mindedness.

[MineralMan]

27. I bet he got delayed. I hope he got to the airport early enough to

have avoided missing his flight. The MSP TSA staff is especially friendly and professional, in my experience.

[Jenoch]

30. I dropped him off more than two

hours before his flight so he had plenty of time.

I have a much more interesting TSA story. Video of my mother being patted down appeared on a 60 Minutes piece about the TSA. Lesley Stahl said "they even pat down little old ladies in wheelchairs." That piece was first broadcast 5 months after my mother died. It sure surprised my dad when he saw her on TV.

[MineralMan]

31. They do pat down little old ladies in wheelchairs.

My Mother-in-law, with her two artificial knees and one hip implant gets that when she travels. But they're very nice about it, and she seems to like the attention. I've taken her through security a couple of times with a gate pass as a family assistant to her. My wife has done it even more often.

[broiles]

35. If I had known how easy it is to get through if

your in a wheel chair, I would have broken my hip sooner. I flew through security. TSA agents are always so nice and professional. I'm glad they are on the job. I'm not crazy about getting on a plane with someone who "forgets" they have a loaded gun in a carryon.

[Jenoch]

36. Late in my mother's life

it got to the point where she could not travel alone so I flew with her to Arizona while my father drove. I remember once at PHX they took her shoes off and made her stand up. She easily could have fallen and they would not let me assist. She had dementia and was afraid and was calling for me to help her. I was not a fan of those TSA agents.

[MineralMan]

38. Flying with old folks, especially with ill old folks

is a complicated thing, no matter what, I've found. With my parents and my MIL both in their mid to late 80s, I expect traveling with them to present many issues. They make my MIL stand up, too, from the airport provided wheelchair, but I noticed that one of the TSA folks conducting the screening always had her arm to prevent a fall. I suppose that differs from place to place, but so far, I've always seen a lot of deference given to older folks by the TSA personnel. Perhaps that was an exception. I do not know.

These days, both my parents and my MIL have stopped flying. They are sad about that, as am I. Age has its drawbacks, for sure. At age 68, I'm still spry and active. Looking at my parents' generation, though, I can see my own future in them. It's humbling. And yet, they are still with us, and that, in itself, is something of a wonder. I almost lost my father this past year, and his recovery was a surprise to everyone. I never know when a trip to see them will be the last while they are alive.

Life's complicated, to be sure.

[Jenoch]

40. My father says that "old age isn't for wimps".

I had to make an emergency flight to AZ on Christmas Day a few years ago. My father had a heart valve replaced. He was lucky though because he came through just fine and now only uses a cane ocassionally. He's actually doing quite well. He shot two deer, a buck and a doe, within four minutes a few weeks ago. Nobody else at our deer camp shot a deer this year (there were 10 of us).

[MineralMan]

42. Yeah, my Dad says the same thing.

He's pretty much accepted his current limitations, but doesn't like them much, and is perfectly willing to say so. He really needs a knee replacement, but says, "Why the hell should I pay good money for that at age 89. I won't get to wear the damn thing out, and I sure as hell don't want to be buried with something I didn't get much use out of." So, he hobbles around with a cane or a walker. Tough old bird. He had bilateral cerebral hematomas last year about this time, and was on the DNR list. But, he managed to pull out of it, to the surprise of all of his doctors. What he says about that is, "Damned good thing they sent me home to die. If I'd have stayed in that damned hospital, they'd have killed me for sure." A straight-speaking guy, he is. An old B-17 pilot, too. He's survived a lot of stuff.

[Jenoch]

49. Your dad sounds a bit like mine.

I have started to interview my father on video to tell us about his family and his life. I encourage you (or siblings) to see if your dad and mom for that matter, will do the same. I inly got an hour out of my mother on one of her more lucid days. I always intended to do more but her good days became fewer and I never got around to it. So far, my father's best story is him telling about how his dad deserted the Tsars' Army in 1910 and walked across Europe before buying false papers and getting on a ship for America in 1912. I really have to get back to that interview.

[MineralMan]

58. While not on video, my Dad is great at telling stories from his life.

In the past few years, I've heard most of them several times, and can pretty much repeat them verbatim. But then, I find myself repeating stories, too. I guess it comes with age.

[CountAllVotes]

32. eh fuck the TSA

and enjoy your avocados.

[MineralMan]

37. Nah. I'm a happily married guy.

I will enjoy my avocados, thanks. I wouldn't have brought them home with me had I not planned to enjoy them. Now, I could buy some here, but they wouldn't be the same as the ones I picked on my parents' farm, somehow.

As I said, I figured they'd cause a bag check. Same with the stand for my sister's gift. But, when I eat those avocados or look out the window at the snowman lawn flag, I'll think of my parents and sister. That's worth the minor delay at the airport, frankly.

[Jesus Malverde]

44. Cool story..

One of them gave me her recipe for quacamole after seeing the avocados and apologizing for the patdown routine. She also asked if I was some kind of college professor, probably because of my tweed jacket and white beard. I laughed, and said that I wasn't. Another TSA person inspected the other bag. I assembled the three-piece lawn stake and put the snowman flag on it for him

[FatBuddy]

47. the funny, it hurts!

"She also asked if I was some kind of college professor, probably because of my tweed jacket and white beard."

uh huh. okey dokey.

[LanternWaste]

48. I imagine we often rationalize the Kafkaesque and the absurd through the mechanism of...

I imagine we often rationalize the Kafkaesque and the absurd through the mechanism of a heart-warming story. It's human nature I'd guess...

[MineralMan]

56. Well, I'm sure if I had woken up that morning as a cockroach,

I would have had more trouble with the security checkpoint. However, I woke up as myself, as usual.

[MadrasT]

50. TSA is useless theater - government authoritarianism and bloat gone wild.

But I never take it out on the agents. Most of them seem to be regular folks just earning a paycheck. (Unless they have a nasty attitude first, then it's game over.)

I have been through the drill hundreds of times and I am always professional and courteous. Had problems with agents' attitudes twice. Not too bad.

[MineralMan]

57. I only fly a couple or three times a year these days.

My experience is that they've all been professional. In fact, this is the first time I've had to do anything more than just pass through the checkpoint. But, as I said, I expected to have a bag check on this trip. I go through TSA security with the expectation of being treated professionally, and have always been treated that way. I see no reason to have an attitude as I go through security, since it is inevitable. I've been screened since the late 1970s, one way or another at airports around the world. Mostly, it's just a few minutes on the way to the gate. Customs, on the other hand, can be a hassle, in my experience, especially outside of the United States. I know some have had issues with Customs on returning, but I haven't.

[Kelvin Mace]

52. Perhaps you can share your story with this woman

http://www.salon.com/2013/12/17/read_this_womans_personal_no_fly_list_hell/

In 2005 Ibrahim was a Ph.D. student at Stanford University attempting to fly to Malaysia from San Francisco for a university-sponsored conference to present her doctoral research. Wheelchair-bound at the time, Ibrahim found herself suddenly detained while trying to board her flight. FBI agents handcuffed her and drove her to a holding cell where she was interned for several hours. During this time she was questioned about her religious beliefs, whether she attended a mosque, and whether she was involved with any community organizations in the San Francisco area. She was denied requests to take her medication, and at one point was threatened by an FBI agent who screamed: ”Don’t make me angry. You won’t like me when I’m angry!”

A slight and soft-spoken woman, Ibrahim is hardly someone who could be mistaken for a hardened terrorist. A member of an interfaith spiritual group that served hospital patients in the Stanford area, she was reportedly humiliated and harassed for hours before being released with a form indicating that the government was “satisfied that there are insufficient grounds for making a criminal complaint.” Shaken and in tears, she boarded her flight and proceed onward. At no time was it disclosed to her why she had been detained.

Although the FBI had formally indicated that Ibrahim had been cleared of being a security risk, this turned out to be only the beginning of her ordeal. Upon her journey back to the United States she found that she had been placed on a no-fly list, which would bar her from returning to her home in California. It has now been eight years since that day, and Ibrahim is still in Malaysia.

[MineralMan]

55. Sorry. I don't know her, and I don't think she's a DUer.

Thanks for the suggestion, though.

[Kelvin Mace]

69. Yeah

and it would be kind of hard because the TSA won't allow her back in the country.

Glad you had a great experience with them, but there are enough horror stories out there to substantiate that they abuse their power enough to be a problem.

What goes on with the TSA is theatre. Very little of what they do make us safer and mostly they have just made traveling more annoying while having an excuse to harass people they don't like.

[Boudica the Lyoness]

62. Lucky you being able to breeze through normally

Not me. I don't get to breeze though, ever.

I have a totally replaced ankle and so I set the alarms off. I get to stand in a glass box while other passengers walk passed and look at me, while I wait to be left up.

I was checked over in London, before boarding for Seattle. After landing in Seattle, before I could board my next flight, without ever going into a unsecured area of the airport, I'm once again told to stand inside a glass box..with little air-holes. I was having trouble standing and there was nothing for me to sit on.

But, I'm sure if you were to trot past, you'd feel all warm and fuzzy inside, because I had been singled out again, and that makes you feel safe.

[MineralMan]

66. Why would you think that would make me feel warm and fuzzy?

I'm sorry for your difficulty in security screenings.

[CBGLuthier]

63. I will never fly again as I will never let a stranger put their hands on me.

No thanks. You be treated like that , fine. Not me.

[MineralMan]

67. OK. That's your choice. I choose to fly,

because I can see no other way to get to see my parents. That's my choice.

[nolabear]

64. For some unknown reason I have a spot that sets off the scanner.

I mean the body scanner. Down near my left ankle is a place that must just be dense, because more than once I've been patted down because of it.

I do not get the generalized outrage. I've had great TSA folks and those that seemed bored or borderline hostile, but I amuse myself in an inevitable situation by working for a moment of connection. Sometimes works, sometimes not, but as Louis CK says, I get to FLY THROUGH THE AIR!!!!

WooHoo!

[MineralMan]

68. 'I get to FLY THROUGH THE AIR.'

Yes. Isn't that amazing! I can be anywhere in the country in under 5 hours. What a world we live in!

[ljm2002]

65. Glad your experience was a good one...

...although I still think the rules are arbitrary and of questionable value as to our overall safety.

For example, on a recent flight I was told I did not have to remove the deodorant I was carrying but I would have to show any gels or toothpaste. Not a problem, I had no other gels or toothpaste -- but a new stick of deodorant could easily be used to transport an explosive gel, if one were so inclined. So there is that.

A year ago, when traveling, the lady at the security desk looked at my driver's license and said (without turning it over) "this is expired". I remained polite and said "turn it over". She did and saw that it was renewed. Now, it's her job to look at IDs every day she is at work -- and she couldn't figure out to turn the damned thing over before saying it was expired? Anyway, after that, I of course got the full pat-down treatment. It was a very small airport and it was right there behind her. So I did not complain, just laughed and enjoyed the attention.

A couple of years ago, my daughter offered to give me a dozen eggs right from her own hens and ducks to take home with me on the 2-hour flight. I wanted to but a little voice told me to call the airport and check with them first. Sure enough, they said they would not allow me to take such an item with me because they were objects filled with a gel like substance. Wow, just wow.

Yes the TSA people are just doing their job, and no we should not go out of our way to give them grief. Still, I wonder about their fairness when they choose who to pat down; and I wonder how much these rules really protect us. After all, any terrorist worth their salt will have a good ID, and will know the procedures which are all pretty rote by now. Not that we should make it easy for them, so I'm a bit torn. There is also the matter of corruption -- TSA agents have been found smuggling drugs in various airports, notably in Florida. Again, any terrorist organization worth its salt would IMO seek to compromise an agent or two -- their pay isn't all that high, and they have access that the rest of us do not.

Ultimately 100% security is simply not possible. Oh well, happy holidays and safe travels to all!